Parish Contacts

Lay Leadership

Ms. Priscilla Rivera

Choir Director

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Directions

From the north
Take I-95 South to U.S. 1. (also known as South Dixie Highway) . Go straight to S.W. 17th Ave. Turn right and go to S.W. 11 Street. Turn right and go to the end of the street. The church is on the left hand side, parking lot in back.

From the south
Take U.S. 1 (South Dixie Highway) north to S.W. 17th Ave. Turn left and go to S.W. 11 Street. Turn right and go to the end of the street. The church is on the left hand side, parking lot in back.

Schedule of Services

6:00 PM Vespers.
Saturday Evening

9:30 AM Divine Liturgy, followed by Church School (weekly) and Inquirer’s Class (on the first Sunday of the month) at 11:30 AM.
Sunday Morning

7:00 PM Vespers.
Eves of Great Feasts

10:00 AM Divine Liturgy.
Mornings of Great Feasts

For a complete list of upcoming services, please visit the Monthly Calendar on the parish website.

Parish Background

Established in 1951, SS Peter and Paul Church is one of the oldest Eastern Orthodox parishes in South Florida.

Our first service was held at the downtown YMCA on December 19, 1951 with VRev Cornelius Svigoon officiating. Fr Svigoon served without pay for the first six weeks, then consented to serve for $60 per month from January through February, and from then on $80 per month with increases as financial status warranted.

Fr Svigoon later negotiated and acquired the sue of the Ada Merritt Jr High School auditorium for a regular Sunday morning service for a very small nominal fee. Pledges were asked for and received; in is manner the church was able to purchase the necessary sacred items and build up the treasury.

Using a public school auditorium for church services had many difficulties. One was the need to set up the altar on the stage, get everything ready for Sunday morning, then dismantling and removing everything immediately after the service to make way for the school to use during the week. Another problem was where to serve our two main holidays. We could use the school only on Sunday, but what to do for Christmas and Easter. The Episcopal church was always willing to help, particularly Holy Cross parish.

We were constantly on the lookout for a proper place to establish our own church. In August 1954, attention was called to a mansion located at 1411 SW 11th St in Miami. The mansion was originally built in 1927 for John Bernard Reilly, the first elected mayor of Miami. With the purchase of the property in the fall of 1954, we then adopted and recorded our chartered in November 1954. In 1957 the Sunday School was established with 20 children enrolled. By-laws were in place December 1959. On November 20, 1960, the property was paid and a “Burning of the Mortgage” banquet was held.

Fr Svigoon retired in June 1958 and his place was filled by the Rt Rev Archimandrite Job Radziwill.

March of 1964 brought to us VRev Theodore and Matushka Sophia (Hubiak) Soroka. Born in Belle Vernon, PA and a graduate of St Tikhon’s Seminary, he had previously served parishes in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio. Having served SS Peter and Paul Church for 31 years, Fr Soroka retired in 1985 and continues to worship with us to this day.

After Fr Soroka retired, VRev Pavel Soucek and Matushka Paula joined us for a few years. VRev Michael Sekela was the pastor from 1999-2002. Our current pastor, V. Rev. Alexander Padlo has been with us since November, 2002.

Protodeacon Nicholas Fedak was ordained to the diaconate in 1989 and was elevated to the rank of Protodeacon on June 9, 1996. Our dear Protodeacon Nicholas fell asleep in the Lord on October 6, 2009.

SS Peter and Paul Church has served the Orthodox Community in South Florida for over 50 years, and we pray for God’s guidance and blessings during the next 50. Memory Eternal to all our clergy, founders, parishioners and friends who have fallen asleep in the Lord. Many Years to all who have and continue to support and join us in worship.

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